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For 42 faintly ridiculous minutes in the early hours of Monday morning – Oban time – Robert MacIntyre looked like he might become a major champion.

That was the span between his unlikely emergence as co-leader of a sodden US Open and JJ Spaun holing an astonishing 64-foot putt to deny the Scot any hope of a play-off.

Sitting in the clubhouse, a still soaked MacIntyre gawped at the TV screen, clattered his macerated hands together in applause, and mouthed “wow” as his dream died.

“I thought I had this one, to be honest,” the 28-year-old admitted, a couple of hours later, as he spoke to the Scottish media from the back of a car leaving the course.

He was not the only one.

While those behind him on the course were, one-by-one, being washed away at a soggy Oakmont, MacIntyre was the one keeping his head above water amid what he described as “the toughest test I’ve ever encountered”.

Birdie on 14 had returned him to level par for the day and two over in total. Having started the day seven back, he was now tied for the lead.

Sam Burns and Adam Scott had frittered away their overnight advantage. Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz were treading water, literally and figuratively.

Spaun – behind MacIntyre on the course – was the only other player heading in the right direction after reaching the turn in a wretched 40. A change of clothes leading to a change of fortune for the Californian who had four birdies in his final seven holes.

What the events of the past week or so in Pennsylvania might also have taken away are questions over MacIntyre’s place at the summit of the game.

He might have started the season’s third major 20th in the world rankings, but few outside his homeland readily reached for his name among their lists of contenders.

His record in the game’s biggest events trends more towards solid than spectacular.

Tied 12th in the 2021 Masters. Tied eighth in last year’s US PGA Championship. Tied sixth in the 2019 Open. All impressive, but none were realistic runs at the big prize.

It mirrors his form this season on the PGA Tour. Only two missed cuts but only three top 10s after two breakthrough victories last season.

But what happened at Oakmont was different.

MacIntyre was the only player from the overnight top-10 to break par in the final round. His two-under 68 was one of the best rounds he will likely ever sign for given the conditions, 90-minute mid-round weather delay, and what was at stake.

While others were diminished, he seemed to grow.

“My previous rain-delay comebacks haven’t been strong,” MacIntyre said. “But today was the day I said to myself, ‘why not, why shouldn’t it be me?’.

“I’ve put a lot of work into this – it’s not just luck. I just had to trust myself.”

That trust took him within a couple of putts of becoming Scotland’s first major winner since Paul Lawrie at the equally-sodden 1999 Open.

It also put another $2,322,000 into his increasingly-bulging pockets and hoisted him up to 12th in the world, as well as fourth in the European Ryder Cup standings.

He is due to play again this week at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. He will then head home to Oban after 11 weeks on the road prior to the defence of his Scottish Open title next month.

The week after that, it’s The Open at Royal Portrush and another chance to flex his major muscles at a venue where he started and finished well in 2019, as Shane Lowry romped to victory.

Born and bred in Oban, MacIntyre has lived on a golf course for much of his life.

His bedroom at the family home looks on to the 12th green at Glencruitten Golf Club, where his father Dougie works as greenkeeper.

His mother Carol, without question his biggest fan, regularly travels to America to ensure he gets some home cooking. And sisters Gillian and Nicola gave up plenty of time and opportunities during their own teenage years to support their brother.

More recently, his girlfriend Shannon has been by MacIntyre’s side as he travelled around the world pursuing his second favourite sport.

Shinty is his first love, and was a regular with Oban Celtic until he reluctantly had to hang up his Caman lest an injury derailed his golf.

After a successful amateur career, during which he won the Scottish Boys Open, Scottish Championship and Scottish Amateur titles and represented GB&I in the 2017 Walker Cup, MacIntyre made the leap into the professional ranks.

In his first season on the European Tour, he won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title. And wins in Cyprus and Italy followed before his victory at the Canadian Open last year – with his dad Dougie on the bag – put his name in lights.

That was quickly followed by his Scottish Open triumph, MacIntyre becoming the first home-based player to win title since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.

Add in being an unbeaten rookie in Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team in Rome two years ago, and his CV is enviable.

Yet when you speak to him, he remains the humble young man I first met around 14 years ago at a charity event at Kingsfield in West Lothian.

For 42 faintly ridiculous minutes in the early hours of Monday morning – Oban time – Robert MacIntyre looked like he might become a major champion.

That was the span between his unlikely emergence as co-leader of a sodden US Open and JJ Spaun holing an astonishing 64-foot putt to deny the Scot any hope of a play-off.

Sitting in the clubhouse, a still soaked MacIntyre gawped at the TV screen, clattered his macerated hands together in applause, and mouthed “wow” as his dream died.

“I thought I had this one, to be honest,” the 28-year-old admitted, a couple of hours later, as he spoke to the Scottish media from the back of a car leaving the course.

He was not the only one.

While those behind him on the course were, one-by-one, being washed away at a soggy Oakmont, MacIntyre was the one keeping his head above water amid what he described as “the toughest test I’ve ever encountered”.

Birdie on 14 had returned him to level par for the day and two over in total. Having started the day seven back, he was now tied for the lead.

Sam Burns and Adam Scott had frittered away their overnight advantage. Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz were treading water, literally and figuratively.

Spaun – behind MacIntyre on the course – was the only other player heading in the right direction after reaching the turn in a wretched 40. A change of clothes leading to a change of fortune for the Californian who had four birdies in his final seven holes.

What the events of the past week or so in Pennsylvania might also have taken away are questions over MacIntyre’s place at the summit of the game.

He might have started the season’s third major 20th in the world rankings, but few outside his homeland readily reached for his name among their lists of contenders.

His record in the game’s biggest events trends more towards solid than spectacular.

Tied 12th in the 2021 Masters. Tied eighth in last year’s US PGA Championship. Tied sixth in the 2019 Open. All impressive, but none were realistic runs at the big prize.

It mirrors his form this season on the PGA Tour. Only two missed cuts but only three top 10s after two breakthrough victories last season.

But what happened at Oakmont was different.

MacIntyre was the only player from the overnight top-10 to break par in the final round. His two-under 68 was one of the best rounds he will likely ever sign for given the conditions, 90-minute mid-round weather delay, and what was at stake.

While others were diminished, he seemed to grow.

“My previous rain-delay comebacks haven’t been strong,” MacIntyre said. “But today was the day I said to myself, ‘why not, why shouldn’t it be me?’.

“I’ve put a lot of work into this – it’s not just luck. I just had to trust myself.”

That trust took him within a couple of putts of becoming Scotland’s first major winner since Paul Lawrie at the equally-sodden 1999 Open.

It also put another $2,322,000 into his increasingly-bulging pockets and hoisted him up to 12th in the world, as well as fourth in the European Ryder Cup standings.

He is due to play again this week at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. He will then head home to Oban after 11 weeks on the road prior to the defence of his Scottish Open title next month.

The week after that, it’s The Open at Royal Portrush and another chance to flex his major muscles at a venue where he started and finished well in 2019, as Shane Lowry romped to victory.

Born and bred in Oban, MacIntyre has lived on a golf course for much of his life.

His bedroom at the family home looks on to the 12th green at Glencruitten Golf Club, where his father Dougie works as greenkeeper.

His mother Carol, without question his biggest fan, regularly travels to America to ensure he gets some home cooking. And sisters Gillian and Nicola gave up plenty of time and opportunities during their own teenage years to support their brother.

More recently, his girlfriend Shannon has been by MacIntyre’s side as he travelled around the world pursuing his second favourite sport.

Shinty is his first love, and was a regular with Oban Celtic until he reluctantly had to hang up his Caman lest an injury derailed his golf.

After a successful amateur career, during which he won the Scottish Boys Open, Scottish Championship and Scottish Amateur titles and represented GB&I in the 2017 Walker Cup, MacIntyre made the leap into the professional ranks.

In his first season on the European Tour, he won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title. And wins in Cyprus and Italy followed before his victory at the Canadian Open last year – with his dad Dougie on the bag – put his name in lights.

That was quickly followed by his Scottish Open triumph, MacIntyre becoming the first home-based player to win title since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.

Add in being an unbeaten rookie in Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team in Rome two years ago, and his CV is enviable.

Yet when you speak to him, he remains the humble young man I first met around 14 years ago at a charity event at Kingsfield in West Lothian.

Shubman Gill is not short on confidence.

Nicknamed ‘Prince’ by India cricket supporters, he is regarded as the next big thing to follow the ‘Little Master’ Sachin Tendulkar and ‘King’ Virat Kohli.

India’s prince is now a ruler, though, with the fresh-faced batter taking over the Test captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma for this summer’s tour of England.

The fact Gill has leaned into the ‘Prince’ moniker by having it inscribed on his bat – to the annoyance of some fans – underlines the unwavering belief in his talents.

Let’s start with the most impressive of all Gill stats: he has the second-best one-day international batting average of all time (59), sandwiched between the Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate (67), who is on the India coaching staff for this tour, and Kohli (58) himself.

Maybe it’s unfair to draw comparisons in Test cricket just yet, but there’s no denying 25-year-old Gill is following in a rich lineage of Indian cricket batting greats.

And this is where he doesn’t quite live up to his lofty billing. His Test batting average of 35 lags behind Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rohit Sharma and Kohli at the same stage of their career.

In fact, it’s significantly behind Dravid and Tendulkar, who were both averaging the widely accepted world-class mark of 50 by their 32nd Test.

But while Tendulkar – the most prolific international batter of all time – was just 16 when he made his Test debut, Gill was younger than both Kohli and Dravid when given his chance in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG in 2020.

The signs were good for Gill when he averaged almost 52 in three Tests in Australia as India lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Dips in form and an injury in England in the summer of 2021 followed, but Gill’s trajectory was heading only one way.

His first Test century came in Bangladesh in 2022, before a career-best 128 against Australia in Ahmedabad in 2023 preceded two centuries against England on their tour of India in early 2024.

“There was a phase where I got 40s or 50s,” said Gill, speaking in 2023. “So I felt that I was being overly defensive after getting set. That isn’t my game. When I get set, I catch my rhythm.

“I’d rather accept being dismissed while going for a shot. It wasn’t acceptable to me that I got out while trying to adapt to a style which didn’t come naturally to me. All of my dismissals in this period were off defensive shots.”

So has Gill been more positive in recent years?

Kohli, in particular, was desperate to do well in England after previous failures and Gill will surely be no different.

Curiously, he has played three Tests in England against three different opponents.

That happened by virtue of appearing in India’s two World Test Championship final appearances against New Zealand and Australia, plus one Test against England in 2022.

A top score of 28 in six innings will surely be improved upon this summer, but England will be more than aware that four of Gill’s dismissals in the UK have been either caught behind by the keeper or in the slip cordon.

What is interesting about Gill is how significantly better he is against spin (averaging 42) compared to pace (31).

Despite this, however, he is not a prolific sweeper. When he does use that shot he strikes at 212 per 100 balls.

He loves to latch on to anything short, striking at 190 on the pull shot which has brought him 29 fours and three sixes in Test cricket for the price of just one dismissal.

The shot which has brought him the most runs is the drive, but his strength is also a weakness, with that accounting for five dismissals.

Perhaps typical of any opener, some 21 of his dismissals in Test cricket have come playing a forward defensive shot. This is another reason why England will be packing the slip cordon with the new ball.

Interestingly, he averages 40 against fast bowling of 87mph upwards and 22 against the slower seam bowlers.

The retired James Anderson has got him out more than anyone else in Test cricket, while Gill has also struggled against Australia’s Scott Boland.

Gill has some leadership experience, having captained India in five T20 internationals and taking charge of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

Gujarat finished third in the 2025 IPL, having been eighth the year before – Gill’s first in charge. He has a win percentage of 52%, which is nothing spectacular compared to Hardik Pandya’s 71% in more games in charge of the Titans.

Australia great Ricky Ponting believes “leadership sits really well” with Gill, while the player himself says he is embracing the challenge.

If his desire to be more positive with the bat sounds very similar to the mantra within the England camp – Gill played under England head coach Brendon McCullum in the IPL – so is his leadership philosophy.

“What I like is communication with the players, making the players feel secure, talking to them, giving them comfort around their weaknesses and strengths,” Gill said when unveiled as skipper.

“If you are a captain of any team or a leader of any team, if your players feel very secure, only then they can give their 100%.”

What is for sure is that he will be more Kohli than Rohit in the field.

Never one to take a backward step, Gill sledged James Anderson and Jonny Bairstow in a Test in India, while umpires have felt his presence when in charge at the IPL.

Shubman Gill is not short on confidence.

Nicknamed ‘Prince’ by India cricket supporters, he is regarded as the next big thing to follow the ‘Little Master’ Sachin Tendulkar and ‘King’ Virat Kohli.

India’s prince is now a ruler, though, with the fresh-faced batter taking over the Test captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma for this summer’s tour of England.

The fact Gill has leaned into the ‘Prince’ moniker by having it inscribed on his bat – to the annoyance of some fans – underlines the unwavering belief in his talents.

Let’s start with the most impressive of all Gill stats: he has the second-best one-day international batting average of all time (59), sandwiched between the Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate (67), who is on the India coaching staff for this tour, and Kohli (58) himself.

Maybe it’s unfair to draw comparisons in Test cricket just yet, but there’s no denying 25-year-old Gill is following in a rich lineage of Indian cricket batting greats.

And this is where he doesn’t quite live up to his lofty billing. His Test batting average of 35 lags behind Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rohit Sharma and Kohli at the same stage of their career.

In fact, it’s significantly behind Dravid and Tendulkar, who were both averaging the widely accepted world-class mark of 50 by their 32nd Test.

But while Tendulkar – the most prolific international batter of all time – was just 16 when he made his Test debut, Gill was younger than both Kohli and Dravid when given his chance in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG in 2020.

The signs were good for Gill when he averaged almost 52 in three Tests in Australia as India lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Dips in form and an injury in England in the summer of 2021 followed, but Gill’s trajectory was heading only one way.

His first Test century came in Bangladesh in 2022, before a career-best 128 against Australia in Ahmedabad in 2023 preceded two centuries against England on their tour of India in early 2024.

“There was a phase where I got 40s or 50s,” said Gill, speaking in 2023. “So I felt that I was being overly defensive after getting set. That isn’t my game. When I get set, I catch my rhythm.

“I’d rather accept being dismissed while going for a shot. It wasn’t acceptable to me that I got out while trying to adapt to a style which didn’t come naturally to me. All of my dismissals in this period were off defensive shots.”

So has Gill been more positive in recent years?

Kohli, in particular, was desperate to do well in England after previous failures and Gill will surely be no different.

Curiously, he has played three Tests in England against three different opponents.

That happened by virtue of appearing in India’s two World Test Championship final appearances against New Zealand and Australia, plus one Test against England in 2022.

A top score of 28 in six innings will surely be improved upon this summer, but England will be more than aware that four of Gill’s dismissals in the UK have been either caught behind by the keeper or in the slip cordon.

What is interesting about Gill is how significantly better he is against spin (averaging 42) compared to pace (31).

Despite this, however, he is not a prolific sweeper. When he does use that shot he strikes at 212 per 100 balls.

He loves to latch on to anything short, striking at 190 on the pull shot which has brought him 29 fours and three sixes in Test cricket for the price of just one dismissal.

The shot which has brought him the most runs is the drive, but his strength is also a weakness, with that accounting for five dismissals.

Perhaps typical of any opener, some 21 of his dismissals in Test cricket have come playing a forward defensive shot. This is another reason why England will be packing the slip cordon with the new ball.

Interestingly, he averages 40 against fast bowling of 87mph upwards and 22 against the slower seam bowlers.

The retired James Anderson has got him out more than anyone else in Test cricket, while Gill has also struggled against Australia’s Scott Boland.

Gill has some leadership experience, having captained India in five T20 internationals and taking charge of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

Gujarat finished third in the 2025 IPL, having been eighth the year before – Gill’s first in charge. He has a win percentage of 52%, which is nothing spectacular compared to Hardik Pandya’s 71% in more games in charge of the Titans.

Australia great Ricky Ponting believes “leadership sits really well” with Gill, while the player himself says he is embracing the challenge.

If his desire to be more positive with the bat sounds very similar to the mantra within the England camp – Gill played under England head coach Brendon McCullum in the IPL – so is his leadership philosophy.

“What I like is communication with the players, making the players feel secure, talking to them, giving them comfort around their weaknesses and strengths,” Gill said when unveiled as skipper.

“If you are a captain of any team or a leader of any team, if your players feel very secure, only then they can give their 100%.”

What is for sure is that he will be more Kohli than Rohit in the field.

Never one to take a backward step, Gill sledged James Anderson and Jonny Bairstow in a Test in India, while umpires have felt his presence when in charge at the IPL.